For many kids, faith formation feels like just one more thing on their busy schedules. They hurry through their school day shuffling from class to class, race to extracurricular activities, squeeze in a meal (often fast-food), and get dropped off at religious education classes, where they are usually met with a flurry of announcements and activity. And here we are, as catechists, trying to get them to suddenly come face-to-face with the issue of their [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

I have heard some catechists say they will never use blackline masters (BLMs) in religious education classrooms, and other catechists like to use every one their curriculum provides. These worksheets and other handouts are usually provided as part of the curriculum; a good catechist manual will advise when to integrate a BLM into the lesson. The key to using worksheets effectively in faith formation is understanding that they are resources for activities, not time-fillers, and [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

As catechists, we want to partner with parents as closely as possible on their child’s faith formation journey, but we are often frustrated with the lack of interaction we have with the parents of those we teach. Recently, I received the following question from a catechist named Susanne: “Any tried and true ways to get information to and from parents of third graders? I find paper notes left behind in class, folders never coming back [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

When teaching others, especially children, about Scripture, we often find ourselves paraphrasing the actual Scripture passage in order to use words that more closely resonate with contemporary experience. This is all well and good, and I do it myself all the time; however, it is important that we expose people to the actual Scripture passages we are summarizing to ensure that we are not putting words in God’s mouth! Recently, I overheard someone speaking to [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

“Central aspects of the formation of children are training in prayer and introduction to Sacred Scripture” (General Directory for Catechesis 178). Today let’s focus on the training in prayer part of that. Training indeed is key, but how do we understand that? Think of a personal trainer: when we need to get in shape or need new motivation to stay in shape, we might hire a trainer to teach us the basics of fitness and [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

We sometimes get the notion that when Jesus performed miracles, the disciples just watched from the sidelines. Not so in the story of Jesus Feeding the 5000 in the Gospel of Mark (6:33–44)! In fact, when the disciples alert Jesus to the need to feed the crowds, Jesus’ response is “You give them something to eat.” (NIV) As the story progresses, the disciples do not remain passive. They do the following: take inventory of what is [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

It’s no coincidence that some of the best coaches and managers in sports are former players themselves. They understand what it’s like to be on the court, field, or ice. In fact, some of the best coaches and managers are those who themselves struggled during their playing years. As a result of their struggles, they studied the game more intensively, seeking to learn every nuance that might assist them since their own pure talent was marginal. [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

One of the most exciting thrusts in the world of catechesis in the past several decades has been the emergence of the importance of evangelization. In fact, catechesis and evangelization are so closely related that the General Directory for Catechesis tells us that “in pastoral practice, it is not always easy to define the boundaries of these activities.” (62) In other words, there is not only overlap between catechesis and evangelization, but there is also [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

I hear people say all the time that they wish more young families would attend Mass regularly. That’s not going to happen unless regular attendees are more welcoming to those young families who venture forth to test the waters of our parishes. For too long, Catholics have arrived/settled into their pews in church in a manner similar to passengers boarding a certain airline: once you get your seat, you try not to make eye-contact with [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.

People who come to Mass infrequently tend to “PACE” themselves by going to church on Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Christmas, and Easter (P-A-C-E). So how can we reach out to our friends, family members, and those we work with who are not practicing their faith? The answer is surprisingly simple. According to Lifeway Research, 51% of unchurched Americans say the most effective way to get them to visit church would be through a personal invitation [...]

CatechistsJourney.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, publishers of Called to Be Catholic, a bilingual, foundational supplemental program that helps young people know their faith and grow in their relationship with God. Written by Joe Paprocki.